We’re off to a rip-roaring start of the rainy season with tons of new snow in the mountains. Too bad it was raining last week on the night of Montclair’s Holiday Stroll, no doubt keeping some folks inside even as others shopped and enjoyed the live music and holiday cheer.
January will see an even more vibrant Montclair as a roster of new restaurants and shops comes to Montclair Village. One of them is opening next month in the large storefront left vacant at 1980 Mountain Blvd. when Montclair Sports downsized and moved upstairs to Suite 212. Started by Montclarion Sean Parkin, CityHealth is a small chain of independent health clinics that offer primary care, urgent care, pediatrics and dermatology.
Parkin is a former paramedic who graduated from Northeastern University’s Physician Assistant program in 2006 and went on to start two health care businesses that were later bought by Carbon Health. He started CityHealth in 2015.
“I wanted to create a home for health — where everyone could get consistent world-class healthcare in an accessible, respectful, and caring way,” says Parkin. “Our locations are designed to feel like relaxed and inviting spaces that you actually want to visit.”
Celebrated book: Montclarion Roy Clay, 93, is the subject of a book picked for NBA star Stephen Curry’s “Underrated Book Club.” Each month, Curry picks stories that highlight “diverse protagonists and social justice issues to inspire his readers to push boundaries.”
Clay’s memoir, “Unstoppable,” tells the amazing life story of the mathematician referred to by many as “the Godfather of Silicon Valley.” Clay, with the assistance of co-writer M.H. Jackson, takes readers on a historical and entertaining journey from his time as a teen in the 1940s (where his uncanny math skills were used to run the backroom craps game at a pool hall in segregated rural Missouri) to his rise to Silicon Valley computer technology pioneer and entrepreneur.
Clay and Curry are separated by roughly 60 years of age, but both are fierce community advocates and both were underrated and overlooked early in their chosen careers but succeeded in becoming American heroes due to their unstoppable drive.
Park priorities: A new survey is highlighting the list of things folks would like to see improved in Montclair Park. Here are the top five, in order of votes:
- Build a paved path around the back of the pond so strollers, bikes, wheelchairs, roller skates, etc. can make loops around the pond. It’s been submitted to the city for a capital improvement request.
- Clean up the pond (in progress).
- Rebuild the amphitheater’s stone steps and regrade its concrete to reduce flooding. Friends of Montclair Park is working on this with Oakland Public Works.
- Improve access to Montclair Park via Mountain Boulevard between the old Montclair firehouse and Thornhill Drive so that it is compliant with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (being explored as part of Safe Routes to School initiative).
- Rebuild or replace Western Town (this issue was archived — the play structure has not been fixed).
Ginny Prior can be followed on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and at ginnyprior.com. Email her at ginnyprior@hotmail.com.
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